The verb is used in the passive voice. Passive voice rules in English and formulas for different tenses

The relationship between an action and an object can be expressed in only two ways: if the object itself performs the action or if the action is performed on it. In linguistics there is a branch of grammar that studies this topic, and it’s called “Active and Passive Voice.” And since this section cannot be considered in English without a similar one in Russian, we will analyze them in turn.

What it is

As already mentioned, the active and passive voice is a verbal category that reflects the relationship between the action, the subject (produces the force) and the object (to which the force is directed). To show which type is used in a sentence to express a thought, it is necessary to know certain constructions characteristic of each of them, which are formed by means of morphology and syntax. The passive voice is expressed by the so-called “passive” form of the verb, and the active voice is expressed by the “active” form. In English, this section sounds like “Passive voice” and “Active voice”, respectively. And as in Russian, the structure of the sentence from a syntactic point of view undergoes changes characteristic of each voice.

Active voice

We use verbs in this form all the time, both in written and spoken language. They denote actions that come directly from the object, and in sentences they take changes in persons, numbers and tenses, i.e. These are all transitive verbs. For example, “I am reading a book”, “he was reading a book”, “we will read a book”, etc. More complex than in Russian, this happens in English, since it has at least 9 tense forms of the verb: three present (Present Simple, Continuous and Perfect), three past (Past) and three future (Future). The use of each of them depends on the purpose of the utterance. Thus, simple tense (Simple) is used to express action in general, i.e. reporting it as a fact, without additional information. For example, “I read a book” (“I am reading a book”). Continuous tells about a process taking place at any time: “Ann is reading a book at this moment” (“Anna is now reading a book”), and Perfect tense denotes those actions that ended by certain moment: “I have read a book already” (“I have already read the book”).

Passive voice

In the Russian language, not all verbs can be used to form this category. This happens because their classification is extensive, and not each of them can be subject to collateral correlation, i.e. take both of its forms. Thus, the passive voice in the Russian language is closely related to the concept of transitivity (the ability to form a connection with an object without a preposition or with it) and reflexivity (attaching the postfix “-sya”) of verbs. For example, dressing a child (transitive), approaching the table (intransitive); listen - obey (returnable), breathe - irrevocable.

Thus, only transitive verbs can form the passive voice in Russian by adding the postfix “-sya” to their actual form. For example: “The house is designed by architects,” “Criminals are detained by police.”

Note

The meaning of sentences with verbs in this voice can also be conveyed using passive participles, both full and short. For example: “The house was designed (designed) by architects” or “Criminals detained (detained) by police.” A separate topic in the Russian language is occupied by the so-called. average return deposit. Only transitive verbs can take its form by adding the postfix “-sya”. In essence, this is the same passive voice, only the subject and object of the action in it is the same person, that is, the action is directed “at oneself.” For example, “Girl getting dressed for a walk”, “Come home for lunch”, “Concentrate on studying”, etc.

In English

It is better to present what the construction of verbs in Active voice (active voice) and Passive voice (passive voice) in English looks like in a table: this will help to simultaneously compare the methods of their formation and understand the general scheme. Thus, in positive sentences, it represents the form of the verb “To be” in the tense required for the statement + a semantic verb with the ending “-ed” or in the third form (V3, Participle II). Passive voice can be easily recognized in an English text using this pattern as it is unique, simple and not used in any other topics. To obtain a question, the first word from the entire verb form is moved to the beginning of the sentence, and for negation, the particle “not” is added after it. To better understand this, it is better to change one sentence in all tenses.

Analysis of the topic using an example

Past Simple: Some letters were written by James at the school. (Several letters written by James at school). / Were some letters written…? / Some letters were not written…

Future Simple: Some letters will be written by James at the school. / Will some letters be written…? / Some letters will not be written…

Pr.Cont.: Some letters are being written by James at the school at the moment. / Are some letters being written…? / Some letters are not being written…

Past Cont.: Some letters were being written by James at the school for hour. / Were some letters being written…? / Some letters were not being written…

FutureCont.: does not exist, you must use the Future Simple.

Pr.Perf.: Some letters have been written by James at the school towards lunchtime. / Have some letters been written…? / Some letters have not been written…

Past Perf.: Some letters had been written by James at the school towards lunchtime. / Had some letters been written…? / Some letters had not been written…

Future Perf.: Some letters would be written by James at the school tomorrow towards lunchtime. / Would some letters be written…? / Some letters would not be written…

conclusions

Thus, the topic of voice correlation of verbs in Russian and English languages based on the same concepts and general rules applications, however, differs sharply in the patterns of temporary forms. This happens primarily because the grammar of these two languages ​​is practically not similar, which means that word formation cannot be compared. But still, it is absolutely impossible for Russian-speaking students to master this topic in English without knowing it in their native speech, since the minimum for studying it is a general understanding.

Passive voice in English (passive voice or passive voice) is usually used when the speaker's attention is focused on the action itself. In this case, the structure of the sentence itself changes: the tense changes, the word order changes, an auxiliary verb is added in one form or another, and the main verb changes its form. In this case, it is unimportant or even unknown who performs this action:

My bike was stolen- My motorcycle was stolen.

In this example, the emphasis is on the fact that a motorcycle was stolen. The speaker either does not know who exactly did this, or does not attach importance to it, so the sentence is constructed in the passive voice - you can notice that in addition to the main verb, placed in the third form, the verb to be has appeared in the past tense form.

Sometimes passive voice is used to smooth out the emotional coloring:

A mistake was made- It was a mistake.

In this case, using passive voice (passive voice) the speaker emphasizes only the fact of making a mistake, not talking about who made it. The verb to be in the past tense form also appears here.

Formation of passive voice

The English passive voice is formed like this (basic rule):

noun (subject) + form of the verb to be + verb in the 3rd form (past participle).

The girl was deceived- The girl was deceived.
A building was burned by John– The building was set on fire by John.
My sandwich is eaten- They are eating my sandwich.
The theater will be built- The theater will be built.
This island will be explored– This island will be explored.
The children will be met at the railway station– The children will be met at the railway station.

The construction is going to + verb, which is used to express intention or simply talk about the future tense, changes to is going to be + verb:

The project is going to be done by Friday– The project will be done by Friday.
The pie is going to be baked in the evening- The pie will be baked in the evening.
My beard is going to be cut- The beard will be trimmed.

In some passive voices, additional verbs have, will, etc. (in their various types and forms) are placed before or after the form of the verb to be. Cases of the appearance of several verbs in a row are discussed in more detail in the table below.

When converting active voice to passive, remember:

• present simple (present simple) and passive voice are not compatible;
• a noun that was an object in the active voice becomes a subject in the passive voice;
• the final form of the verb in the passive voice changes to “form of the verb to be” + “verb in the third form”;
• a noun that was the subject in the active voice becomes the object or is completely dropped out of the sentence in the passive voice.

Using prepositions in the passive voice

When you need to clarify by whom or what the action was performed, the prepositions by and with are used:

The cat is caught by the boy- The cat was caught by the boy.
We were warned by a fireman- We were warned by the fire department.

The preposition by is needed to clarify who performed the action:

The cat is caught by the boy- The cat was caught by the boy.

The preposition with is needed to clarify how the action was performed:

The paper is cut with the scissors– The paper was cut with scissors.

In interrogative constructions that begin with who and what, the preposition by is always present.

Who was the Moby-Dick written by?– Who painted the Mona Lisa?
What was the earthquake caused by?– What caused the earthquake?

Temporary forms

Let us emphasize once again: all tense forms of the passive voice consist of two parts: to be in a certain tense form and the third form of the verb. Like the active voice, the passive voice has different tenses and forms.

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The third form of the verb is always present in the tense forms of the passive voice and the time of the utterance is determined by the form of the verb to be.

In Continuous tenses, the passive voice is not used. If you need to use one of these tenses, then it must be replaced with an active voice or another tense. Next, we will consolidate these rules using additional tables with examples.

Table of tenses in passive voice

Examples of sentences in the passive voice in simple English tenses:

Examples of sentences in passive voice in more complex English tenses:

Negative form formation

English passive voice (passive voice) in negative form is formed by adding the particle not after the verb to be in the appropriate form or another additional verb (have, will, should, etc.) if it is used:

English textbook was not bought in 2007 – English textbook was not purchased in 2007.
Their promises shouldn't be kept“Their promises should not be kept.”
The flowers are not watered- Flowers are not watered.
This car is not washed- This car is not washed.
I am not invited- I'm not invited.

Formation of the interrogative form

In interrogative sentences put in the passive form (passive voice), the verb to be is placed at the very beginning:

Was the rabbit caught?– Was the rabbit caught?
Were you told to come in the morning?- Did they tell you to come in the morning?
Are they injured?- Were they wounded?
Is the fence painted?– Is the fence painted?

If a sentence in the passive voice contains additional verbs that are conditioned by a special tense (for example, present perfect or future simple), they are moved to the beginning, and the verb to be in the required form remains in its place:

Will the message be written by Mike?– Will the message be written by Mike?
Will she be invited to the birthday?– Will she be invited to her birthday?
Is my beard going to be cut?– Will my beard be trimmed?

Verbs that are not used in the passive voice

In English, it is impossible to translate into passive voice. Let us remember that intransitive verbs differ in that they cannot have a direct object. They usually denote movement or state.

Examples of intransitive verbs:

Cry- cry
Work- work
Laugh- laugh
Start- start
Move– move
Run- run

Translating a sentence from active to passive voice

Let's summarize. To convert a sentence to passive, the following steps are required:

• The object in a sentence must be placed in place of the subject.
• It is necessary to translate the verb into the third form or add the ending -ed and add the verb to be to it in the required tense and form. The tense itself does not change, with the exception of those tenses that are not used in the passive voice.
• The subject of a sentence in the active voice takes the place of an object in the passive voice and is used with the prepositions by (if the action is performed by a person) or with (if the action is “performed” by a tool or object).

Example:

Video about passive voice in English:

Greetings, my dear readers.

Isn’t it true that the “passive voice” sounds scary? Questions immediately arise: what has he done that he is “suffering” so much? In reality, behind the proud name there is simply hidden the grammatical phenomenon “passive”.

Okay, so be it, so that you understand the topic better and don’t get confused in all these names - we’ll give it a separate lesson called the passive voice in English, or “passive” in common parlance. Today we are waiting for the rules with examples and education of this time. And then you can consolidate the theory and.

What it is

Let's immediately understand what the “passive voice” is with examples.

I cooked the dinner.- I prepared dinner.

From this sentence it is clear that the action is performed a certain person, that is, by me. It turns out that this is the active voice, or all those sentences and that we usually use.

The passive voice in our case will look like this:

The dinner was cooked.- Dinner has been prepared.

Please note that now in the first place we have the very fact that dinner has been prepared. That is, there is no need to mention who did it.

This is the phenomenon when you completely no need to specify who is doing the action, or you need to put the action itself first, and the passive is used.

How to translate

Of course, many people immediately have a question: how to translate such sentences. And my answer to you is the same as usual, we just don’t indicate the character.

The walls were painted yesterday.- Yesterday we painted the walls.

New sports center will be opened next month.- A new sports center will open next month.

The dinner hadn’t been made by the time I got home.- By the time I arrived home, dinner was not ready yet.

How is it formed

• In short, the structure of the passive voice is as follows:

Subject + auxiliary verb (to be) + verb in the third form (V3) + object.

Depending on the tense in which the sentence is constructed, the verb “to be” will change its form. Below in the table you will see how this is done.

The car was broken in an accident.- The car crashed in an accident.

The meeting is being held in room 13.- The meeting is taking place in room 13.

The car has been repaired.- The car was repaired.

• A particle is added to the structure of a negative sentence not to the auxiliary verb.

Subject + auxiliary verb (to be) + not + verb in the third form (V3) + object.

The room wasn’t (was not) cleaned.- The room was not cleaned.

The house wasn’t (was not) decorated yet. - The house hasn't been decorated yet.

The thieves weren’t (were not) caught yet.- The thieves have not been caught yet.

• In interrogative sentences, the auxiliary verb and the subject change places.

Auxiliary verb (to be) + subject + verb in the third form (V3) + object?

Was the television repaired?- Was the TV fixed?

Was the report written?- Have you written a report?

Have the photos been printed?- Were the photographs printed?

You may have noticed that even the passive voice must be used correctly, so I have a table for you that will help you remember and quickly navigate the use of tenses (click on the picture to enlarge).

I think you noticed that there is no Future Continuous form for the passive. If there is still a need to express duration in the future, then the usual Future Simple will be used.

The same applies to complex tenses: Present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous and Future Perfect Continuous. There are no passive constructions in them! Use Perfect tenses instead!

Rules of use and examples

The use of the passive can be characterized by the following rules:

• When the person performing the action is unknown, unimportant, or obvious.

Mr. Samson's jewelry was stolen last night.- Mrs. Samson's jewelry was stolen yesterday.

Feel the difference:

The thieves stole Mr. Samson's jewelry last night.- Thieves stole Mrs. Samson's jewelry last night.

In the passive, it is already obvious to us who did it, and there is no need to say obvious things. Let's look at another example.

The brakes of the car were tested.- The car's brakes were checked.

Compare:

The mechanic tested the brakes of the car.- The mechanic checked the car's brakes.

After all, it was already obvious that the car’s brakes were being checked by a mechanic. That is why the passive looks much more relevant here.

Mercedes cars are made in Germany. - Mercedes cars are produced in Germany.

Mercedes Benz make their cars in Germany.- The Mercedes Benz company produces its cars in Germany.

A completely similar situation when naming the character makes no sense.

If you like to learn English in a fun and effective way, then register with Lingualeo — there is a lot of interesting and free material (simulators, dictionaries, lessons). By the way, you can also take paid specialized courses there for various needs. For example, course « Irregular Verbs» will help you quickly and spontaneously remember the forms of basic and frequently used irregular verbs in the English language and learn about some of the features of their use.

• When the action itself is more important than the person performing it.

Two families were seriously injured in a car accident last night.-Last night, two families were seriously injured in a car accident.

Besides, the passive voice is very often used in formal English, but the active voice is in both versions.

If you want to learn more about the grammatical aspects of the English language in theory and practice, go to mine - there you will find the basic rules and practical part for each of them.

This, my dears, is where we will finish our lesson. You can find even more information in the video tutorial. But still remember that the best tactic for memorizing new topics is lots and lots of practice. Therefore, we have ahead of you, as well as even more materials and useful things.

Until next time, my loves;)

The rules of the English language are such that at the beginning of a sentence there is usually a word indicating the object or person performing the action. For example:
I cook dinner every day.— I cook lunch every day.

The action is expressed in the active voice, that is, a person, in this case “I,” perform some action. The same idea can be expressed another way:
Dinner is cooked every day. — Lunch is prepared every day.

As you can see, the word “lunch” has formally taken the place of the subject, although “lunch” doesn’t do anything by itself. This sentence is written in the passive voice, in other words Passive Voice. In such a sentence, what matters is not who performs the action, but the action itself.

Rules for using the passive voice

When to use the passive voice?

1. When it is not known who or what is doing the action.
2. When the action itself is important, and not the person who performed it.

The passive voice is formed using the verb to be in the required form and the third form of the semantic verb.

The passive voice has several forms. In this lesson we will look at the forms of simple present, past and future tenses. Let's present the forms of the passive voice in the table:

To ask a question in the passive voice, it is enough to remember how the question is asked in the Present Simple, Past Simple and Future Simple. In the first two cases, the verb to be is placed before the subject, in the second - the auxiliary verb will. For example:
Is the letter sent?

Was the car washed?

Will the house be bought?

Negation is formed using the particle “not”: I won't be asked tomorrow.

If it is important for you to emphasize, by whom an action was performed, use a preposition by:
This book was written by Charles Dickens.— This book was written by Charles Dickens.

If after by you use a pronoun, it will be in the indirect case:
The tickets were bought by me.— The tickets were bought by me.

If it is important for you to indicate how an action is performed, use a preposition with:
Soup is eaten with a spoon.— Soup is eaten with a spoon.

Important! Often used in the passive voice modal verbs. The proposal is structured as follows:
modal verb +be+V3

For example: It must be done tomorrow.

Important! Not all verbs can be used in the passive voice. These verbs include:

• to fly, to arrive
• to be, to become
• to have, to possess, to belong
• to come, to go, to last

The logical question is what to do if we want to express an action that has just ended or is currently ongoing using the passive voice. It's simple. The forms Present Perfect Passive and Present Continuous Passive will help you.

As you remember, with help. Present Perfect we express the result of an action, and Present Continuous describes the action taking place at the moment. The same thing can be expressed using the passive voice.

Compare several offers:

As shown in the table, in the active voice the subject is a person, “I”, and in the passive voice the place of the subject is taken by an object - “machine”. The passive voice form in both tenses is constructed using the verb to be and the verb in the third form, while the verb to be changes in accordance with the chosen tense form:

As you can see, in the passive voice the Continuous form is expressed using the verb be with the ending ing, and the Perfect form is expressed using an auxiliary the verb have and the verb be in the third form.

Passive voice signal words

Important! Choice the desired shape passive voice will be prompted by the same signal words that are used with active voice forms. Let's look at a few examples:
The windows are being clean ed at the moment.

The football match is being play ed next Sunday.

The door has just been paint ed.

The cake hasn't been eaten yet.

As you can see, all signals are valid for both active and passive voices. And their place in the sentence is governed by the rules you already know.

To ask a question in Present Perfect Passive or Present Continuous Passive, you need to change the order of the words in the sentence, for example:
Are you being followed?

What has it been made of?

Lesson assignments

Task 1. Open the brackets using Passive Voice.

1. The car (not/sell) yesterday.
2. The ceiling (paint) next week.
3. The paper (buy) by my father every week.
4. A new house (build) here next year.
5. much money (spend) yesterday in the shop?
6. My clothes usually (iron) by my mother.
7. Your article (publish) last month.
8. The door (not/open).

Task 2. Translate.

1. The shop is closed.
2. Everyone trusts him.
3. When will the film be shown?
4. Yesterday the children were taken to the zoo.
5. The song was not sung.
6. Has your bag been stolen?
7. They didn't tell me anything.
8. Museums are visited by many people.

Task 3. Open the brackets using Present Perfect Passive or Present Continuous Passive

1. Jeanette usually goes to school, but this month she (teach) at home.
2. The problem just (solve).
3. I can't find my purse. I think, it (steal).
4. A very good job recently (offer) to my brother.
5. You breakfast still (cook).
6. The office (repair) at the moment.
7. You ever (bite) by a dog?
8. The new bridge (build) at the moment.

Task 4. Change the sentences using the passive voice.

1. I have already sold my flat.
2. She is writing a letter.
3. I buy bread every day.
4. He will repair the bike.
5. Is she using a computer at the moment?
6. Someone broke the window.
7. Mom has ironed my shirt.
8. You can buy cheese in any supermarket.

Answer 1.

1. wasn't sold
2. will be painted
3. is bought
4. will be built
5. Was much money spent…
6. are usually ironed
7. was published
8. isn't open

Answer 2.

1. The shop is closed.
2. He is trusted by everyone.
3. When will the film be shown?
4. The children were taken to the Zoo yesterday.
5. The song wasn't sung.
6. Was your bag stolen?
7. I was told nothing./I wasn’t told anything.
8. Museums are visited by many people.

Answer 3.

1. is being taught
2. has just been solved
3. has been stolen
4. has recently been offered
5. is still being cooked
6. is being repaired
7. Have you ever been…
8. is being built

Answer 4.

1. My flat has already been sold.
2. A letter is being written.
3. Bread is bought every day.
4. The bike will be repaired.
5. Is the computer being used at the moment?
6. The window has been broken.
7. My shirt has been ironed.
8. Cheese can be bought in any supermarket.

If the subject denotes a person or thing performing an action, then the predicate verb is used in the form active voice.

If the subject denotes a person or thing being acted upon by another person or thing, then the predicate verb is used in the form passive voice.

Formation of the passive voice

The passive voice is formed using the auxiliary verb to be at the required time And past participles semantic verb.

The table shows that the passive voice not used in such tenses as Present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous, Future Continuous and Future Perfect Continuous. In such cases you can use:

1. Active voice
Tomorrow at this time I will be discussing this project with my colleague - Tomorrow at this time I will discuss this project with my colleague.

2. Passive voice. But it should be remembered that in this case it is necessary to replace tenses that are not used in the passive voice with those that are used in the passive voice.

• Future Continuous -> Future Simple
  Tomorrow at 10 o"clock they will be holding a meeting - Tomorrow at 10 o'clock they will hold a meeting.
  The meeting will be held tomorrow at 10 o"clock - The meeting will be held tomorrow at 10 o'clock.
• Present Perfect Continuous -> Present Perfect
  She has been cleaning her flat since morning - She cleans her apartment in the morning.
  The flat has been cleaned since morning - The apartment is cleaned in the morning.
• Past Perfect Continuous -> Past Perfect
  They had been selling furniture for over 20 years before they closed down their shop - They were selling furniture for more than 20 years before they closed their store.
  Their furniture had been sold for over 20 years before their shop was closed down – Their furniture was sold for more than 20 years before their store was closed.
• Future Perfect Continuous -> Future Perfect
  Next week I will have been painting this portrait for 3 months – Next week it will be 3 months since I painted this portrait.
  Next week this portrait will have been painted for 3 months – Next week it will be 3 months since this portrait has been painted.

Using the Passive Voice

Some features of the use of the passive voice

*Intransitive verbs- these are those verbs with which it is impossible to use a direct object (translated into Russian as an object in the accusative case without a preposition).
Finally, they arrived - Finally, they arrived. (Arrive is an intransitive verb; it cannot be followed by a direct object)

Transitive verbs denote an action that, in its meaning, transfers to a certain object that can be expressed by a direct object. For example, you can only “wash” something: a window, dishes, a car. The very meaning of the verb implies the presence of an object.
I invited Sally and Sharon – I invited Sally and Sharon. (Invite is a transitive verb, Sally and Sharon is a direct object)

Many verbs in English can be both transitive and intransitive. Compare these offers:
The door opened - The door opened.
She opened the door - She opened the door.